Blog

After a nearly ten-year hiatus, I start my first venture back into life as a recording artist and this is what I get: Fans and friends from a dozen countries reconnecting through the Brave New World of Social Media, press and radio support from all over, star pals like Suzy Bogguss and Lee Roy Parnell and Delbert McClinton coming over to sing and play music with me, and a fully funded album project!

Suzy Bogguss in The Holler with Lari recording vocals for "Wishes."

Thank you. As backers of this effort, you have all shown great generosity and EXCELLENT taste, and my highest goal is to give you a music experience that moves and entertains you, and above all makes you glad to be human. Some of you will be starring in a YouTube live video with me, some staying in my Nashville bungalow and going backstage at the Grand Ol’ Opry, and all of you will be receiving hot off the press the Old Friends, New Loves Kickstarter Exclusive Double EP package before the dog days of summer are over!

Lee Roy Parnell cuts some slide guitar on "Lead Me Not."

I’m thrilled to be able to share this process with you, and I look forward to hearing from you throughout the making of the music. I leave this Sunday to go on a two-week camping trip with my family, so I will be off-the-grid for awhile, but early August will find me back in the Holler, burning the studio candles at both ends to finish the project before my fall tour starts at the Big Barn Dance in Taos New Mexico on September 9.

Check out my tour schedule at LariWhite.com and come out to a show! I’ll be giving extra special attention to any Kickstarter backers who catch me on tour. And if there’s a venue near you where you’d like to see me play a show, let me know...I’m always looking for cool new rooms to play in interesting parts of the country, especially if they have good food ;)

I’m so grateful for this job, so lucky that music is not only my love but my livelihood, and fortunate to have such stellar fans and friends with whom to share it. Stay cool and stay tuned...

Nashville, Tennessee — (June 9, 2016) — Grammy® winning vocalist, film (Cast Away) and Broadway actress, published author, hit songwriter and history-making record producer, LARI WHITE, is marking 25 years as a recording artist as she prepares to release the double EP, Old Friends, New Loves, this fall. The passion project will lead with a Kickstarter campaign launching June 9 and allow her fans and fellow music lovers to be part of the creative process.

“I’m excited to bring everyone into the studio with me — and Kickstarter lets me do that,” White says. “This will be the first recording I’ve done where the fans ARE the record label. They back the project and I report directly to them on every little detail, giving them control-room access to the whole process.”

Recording at The Holler, White’s landmark recording studio, friends and fellow stars Suzy Bogguss, Lee Roy Parnell and other long-time collaborators from White’s earliest days as a country star will make special guest appearances on the first of two EP projects currently in the works — Old Friends — highlighted by rootsy re-inventions of breakout hits like “Lead Me Not,” “That’s How You Know When You’re In Love” and “That’s My Baby.” The second EP — New Loves — features White’s recently-penned originals and favorite covers, a rich stew of Americana, soul, jazz and country songs, featuring guests Shawn Mullins and bass legend Victor Wooten.

“My fans have followed me the whole way on this crazy 25-year creative journey,” shares White. “We love music and we love storytelling, and we don’t let ourselves be limited by rules about genre or medium or “brand” for God’s sake. The only rule is that it’s honest. And I honestly LOVE country and jazz and soul and movies and literature and photography and any art that moves the human spirit to a good place.”

Lari White’s Kickstarter campaign launches the first day of CMA Music Festival, Thursday, June 9 and runs through July 13 at http://kck.st/1U7K8qM. It allows fans to participate in the creation of Old Friends, New Loves and features a range of unique rewards for contributors. Standouts include a two-night Nashville vacation in White’s West Nashville bungalow with a champagne breakfast prepared by the singer herself. Other notable items include voice lessons with Lari through her new ArtistWorks Country Vocal School and a backstage pizza party at one of her upcoming concerts. Contributors can also get producer credit on the new albums or an intimate acoustic house concert.

“I can hardly believe I’ve been lucky enough to make music my entire life,” says White. “Sharing my music-making process is one way I can say ‘Thank YOU!’ to the fans who have made it possible for an amazing 25 years!”